


The Prince Diaries

by CarlyJo



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: AU, Gen, Princess Diaries AU, just a lot of royal fluffy shit, no real relationship in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-06 06:51:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17340638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarlyJo/pseuds/CarlyJo
Summary: The Princess Diaries AU with Luke Hemmings finding out he is the Prince of Genovia.





	The Prince Diaries

**Author's Note:**

> So this idea came from tags that killerlukesqueen on Tumblr made on a picture of Luke and I HAD to write this. I changed up some things for this AU from the movie to make this all work out for what I wanted to do with this! This whole thing might not work out so great, but I tried really hard! Let me know if you like this, I have ideas on how to do the second movie in this AU.

“I’m a what?”

“A prince.”

“SHUT UP!” Luke screamed at his grandmother. 

Luke was only 17, there was no way that he was a prince. He was the biggest loser at his school, he had only one friend, Michael. How could Luke even trust his grandmother? He had met the woman twice in his entire life, she lived in some tiny European country and never came to see him and his mother. His grandmother was his father’s dad, and now that his father was dead, well now this lady seemed interested in him finally.

“Since your father has passed away,” His grandmother’s eyes shone a bit like she might cry, but she sucked in a quick breath, “You are next in line for the throne. I need you to be prepared for the weight of becoming King someday. I will stay here and teach you what you need to know before the annual ball we will be having later this year, to name you crown prince.”

“Teach me?” Luke asks.

“You cannot be the incoming heir to the throne and be acting like a normal teenager.” His grandmother sniffs at him and Luke isn’t sure if it is his clothing or his appearance that his grandmother is more disapproving of. He wore a band shirt and jeans, not even knowing what to wear to tea with his long-lost grandmother. His hair was down past his shoulders and curly, but that was how he liked it.

“Why would I want to become king of some tiny country I have never even been to?” Luke snips back.

“Because it is your blood. I married your grandfather and became royal, you were born royal.” She says easily back to him. Luke’s head is swimming, he needs to think about this.

“Can I, uh, get back to you on this?” Luke asks as he rises from the table where the two had been having tea, something Luke was not interested in anyway.

“Get back to me?” She asks as he hurries into the house, grabs his backpack and he leaves the premises.

After having a meltdown to his mother once he got home about the whole ordeal Luke was resigned to just forget about the whole thing and go on living like this wasn’t happening. If he ignored it, it would go away, right? Wrong.

“Good morning Luke.” His grandmother says to him as he descended the stairs to his living room. He shoots his mother a glare and she pretends to be busy at the stove.

“What are you doing here?” Luke asks in a huffy voice.

“That is no way to speak to your grandmother.” His mother scolds him. Luke just rolls his eyes as he grabs a pack of pop tarts from the cabinet and throws them into the toaster.

“I wanted to see if you were ready to get back to me now?” Luke’s grandmother says to him. He sighs softly as he tries to think of the best way out of this.

“Uh, I mean it is a great offer, but I have college and plans and life, ya know,” Luke says to the toaster as he watches his pop tarts cook.

“So you do not want to take the crown?” His grandmother asks him.

“Not really, no.” He replies meekly.

“Well, then Genovia is going to be ruled by someone other than a Renaldi for the first time. The family line is broken and now, the country will be thrown into a whole new regime.” She sounds disappointed. “Your father always hoped that once you were of age, you would come to Genovia and learn about it all. He hoped you would be excited to become king someday when he was gone. We never thought he would be gone this soon.” She has a few tears on her cheeks when he turns to look at her and Luke’s heart breaks. He didn’t want to be a king, that sounded like a huge responsibility, and he was not even close to responsible.

“Luke, your father and I, we didn’t work. But he loved you and he wanted you to become the king of Genovia someday. He was going to bring you there over to Genovia this summer, as you turned 18 to tell you all of this himself.” His mother says then. Luke was really screwed now. With his mother giving him her sweet eyes and his grandmother crying, he was going to have to do this, whether he wanted to or not.

“Fine. I’ll do it.” Luke takes a bite as he talks, spewing crumbs everywhere. His mother is mortified and his grandmother looks like she might vomit.

“Well, that is great news. I will have someone come to get you after school each day for us to have your lessons.” His grandmother rises and brushes crumbs off of herself as she talks.

“Wait, I have to do more school, after school?” Luke is already regretting this.

That very afternoon there was a limo waiting out front of Luke’s high school. People were staring at it as they walked past to go to their own cars or the bus. Luke groaned when he recognized the flags on the limo as the flag of Genovia, he had noticed it everywhere at the place he had tea with his grandmother.

“Dude, check it out!” Michael laughed as he pointed at the limo.

“That’s actually my ride.” Luke sighed in reply.

“What?” Michael was confused as he looked at Luke.

“It’s my grandma’s, I gotta go see her.”

“I thought we were going to hang out?” Michael asked.

“Sorry man, I am going to have to go to her place after school now.” Luke shrugged at Michael as they reached the limo now.

“For what?”

“Nothin’, I’ll tell you about it later,” Luke told him. “See you tomorrow.” Luke nodded at his friend and the driver held the door open for him, so he climbed inside the limo.

The ride over to the Genovian consulate made Luke even more nervous, what were prince lessons? Would he have to read a whole bunch of Genovian books? Did they even speak English there? His father and grandparents always spoke perfect English so he assumed so. The driver was quiet and it was making Luke feel more unease that he was almost unwelcome here. He didn’t want to let his father down, even if he knew this was a bad idea.

The limo stopped in front of the consulate and Luke let himself out of the back, much to the dismay of the driver. He made a mental note to wait next time, before heading inside the building. He was told to wait for his grandmother in the sitting room, so he was on the couch waiting for her when he noticed the bowl of pears in front of him. He was starving, so he grabbed one and chomped into it.

“Bleh!” He spat out the pieces of plastic that had filled his mouth. He scraped his tongue off and then he looked around to be sure no one had witnessed him be such an idiot. He placed the bitten pear back in the bowl, with the bite mark faced away so no one would even know. The plastic pieces he shoved into his jeans pockets quickly as he rose when he saw his grandmother coming down the stairs.

“Good afternoon Luke.” She smiled at him as she came into the room. She extended her hand to him then, Luke just stared at it. “You may take my hand and kiss the back.” She instructed him.

“Oh, uh okay,” Luke said as he did as he was told. She smiled at him when she pulled her hand back and she turned to walk to a different room. Luke followed, assuming that was what he was supposed to do.

“We need to start with your posture.” She said as they stood in a room that must be the library. She was sizing him up and it made Luke very uncomfortable. “You slouch so much that you decrease your height. Take your backpack off.” She was walking around him in circles and she took the bag from his back. Luke tried his best to stand straight, but her face told him it wasn’t good enough. Then she was manhandling him, pulling his shoulders back and moving his chest out as well. It hurt, but she seemed pleased now.

“So what are prince lessons?” He asked then, needing to know what he had gotten himself into.

“I am going to teach you how to behave properly; manners, eating etiquette, how to greet people from other countries and those in positions of power. You will read about Genovia and the history of the country and monarchy that you are apart of. At the ball, you will be expected to dance so we will teach you to dance. Also before the ball, we will make sure to do a small makeover.”

“A makeover?” Luke almost yells. He wasn’t in need of one, at least he didn’t think so. Plus reading made him unexcited, this was not going to be fun. “You know I have school, it’s almost the end of my high school career so I have finals and senior things to do,” Luke adds on.

“I understand. I will make sure that these lessons do not interfere with your social time. But we do need to get you ready before the ball this summer. And once you are 18 you will be needed in Genovia.” His grandmother has just torn his hopes of having a chill summer apart. Luke slumps a little and she pushes his back up a little so he is standing straight once again.

The lessons start that afternoon, with books for Luke to read in his “spare time”. He is busy with schoolwork, reading, prince lessons and then trying to maintain his friendship with Michael. He has been suspicious of how busy Luke had suddenly become, but he had let it go. Luke had finished a book his grandmother had given him, so he called Michael to come over and play video games. The two were sat in Luke’s room, silently playing the game and Luke was feeling his stress melting away.

“So what have you been doing with your grandma?” Michael asks Luke and the stress is back. His grandmother hadn’t told him it was a secret or anything, but he didn’t want to broadcast his new royal status to everyone. It was embarrassing for Luke in all honesty.

“Uh, just stuff. She’s been teaching me stuff about my dad’s side of the family.” Luke replies, it wasn’t a lie at least.

“I guess that’s pretty cool, I know he only visited once a year.” It was true, Luke’s father only came to visit him yearly, but they did talk on the phone a lot and then emailed when that became easier. Even with the distance, they were still on good terms.

“Yeah, it is cool. She is nice, most of the time.”

“It must be nice to get to know your dad’s family, now that he’s gone.” Michael is treading lightly. It had only been a few months since Luke’s father had died and he didn’t want to upset Luke. When Luke doesn’t reply to him Michael wonders if he should ask more, but he doesn’t.

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The lessons are going well with things ramping up in preparation for a state dinner that Luke must attend. His grandmother was having him eat after school so he was sure to use proper table manners. Then she was quizzing him on all of the foreign dignitaries who were going to attend the dinner, he had to make a good first impression on all of them. Luke’s head was pounding the morning of the dinner and he was sure that he was going to mess something up. He had to go to the consulate for his makeover before the dinner and he was not looking forward to it.

“Luke!” His grandmother greeted him as she entered the sitting room. He had worn his usual day clothes, something that caused her face to scrunch a bit as she took him in. She led him upstairs to a bedroom where there was a team waiting for them. She introduced him to them all but he was not able to pay attention with his nerves for the dinner taking over his mind.

Luke is lead to a chair like in a salon and he groans when the people start to pick at him. They are pulling on his hair and plucking at his face. He has his hair trimmed to just above his shoulders, face shaved, eyebrows shaped, skin exfoliated and then moisturized. When they turn the chair and he gets a look at himself he must admit that he does look good, really good even. Then they bring in his tux for the evening and all the good feelings go away, he feels so stuffy in it now that he is dressed and someone has done his hair for him.

“You look so handsome!” His grandmother exclaims as she comes out into the hallway in her gown. He nods and kisses her hand like he was supposed to do. The announce Luke to the room below and he descends downwards into the throng of foreign people who are waiting to meet him, the next king of Genovia. Luke is pulled into handshakes and hand kisses and bows before everyone is called to the table to sit down for the dinner. His grandmother had gone over the courses with him, what each course would be and the proper utensil to eat with, but all of that was gone from his head as the salad is set down in front of him.

The prime minister and his wife are sat next to Luke, with his grandmother just on the other side of a couple next to them. He watches as the prime minister takes a fork and Luke takes the same one from his own table setting. When the soup comes he does the same with the spoons, making sure to grab the same one as the prime minister.

It is when the finger bowls come around that he makes his first mistake before anyone can stop him he sips at the bowl, before seeing everyone else has their fingers in the water. Luke is red in the face as he sets his bowl back and puts his fingers in the water. Then as he is cutting his filet for the entree he cuts too hard and his knife makes a loud clang that interrupts every conversation in the room.

For all his mistakes Luke’s conversation with the prime minister seems to be going well. He knew Luke’s father well and Luke was happy that it seemed he had someone on his side to help him back in Genovia. Luke peeks over at his grandmother and she is smiling at him proudly, giving him a huge confidence boost.

Luke had been drinking a lot of water during the meal, not sure how to fill the silences that occurred sometimes. He decides to rush out to the bathroom before the dessert course is served. As he rises from his chair he backs up to give himself room to push the chair back in, backing into someone behind him.

“Sorry.” Luke turns and says before he realizes it was the waiter with a tray full of flaming Baked Alaska, and now the waiter was on fire from a knocked over dessert! Luke grabs his water glass, but it is empty. So he grabs a pitcher from the table and dumps water all over the poor man, in doing so he ruins the entire tray of desserts, all of them soaked through with water now. Luke can’t believe what he had just done, the disbelief is mirrored on every single face in the room.

Luke rushes out to the restroom, trying to collect himself before going back into the dining room. As he approaches he sees his grandmother waiting for him. He slumps a little, feeling like a failure as she gives him a look.

“I am sorry, I didn’t see him,”

“Luke.” She interrupts his apology. “It was a mistake. This dinner was a trial run for the ball. You will be fine.” She smiles before going back to her seat and Luke to his own. He is relieved to see that everyone has their own dessert, thankful that the chef must have made extras. The rest of the evening goes well and Luke does feel a bit better that it is over with, his first big dinner as the prince of Genovia.

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Lessons with his grandmother were easier after the dinner and Luke was focused on finishing off the school year. He only had a month left when the news broke: “Local teen set to become the next ruler of small European country” the headline online read when he awoke one morning. He groaned as his face appeared when you clicked the link. He tried to get his mother to let him skip school, at least until the news died down, but his grandmother called and insisted that he go to school. She wanted him to come across strong and not afraid of the new attention.

So here Luke was, walking into school with every single person staring at him like he had grown a second head overnight. Girls were waving at him and guys were nodding at him like they knew him.

“You’re a fucking prince?” Michael almost screamed at Luke when he found Luke at their lockers.

“Could you say it any louder?” Luke hushed him.

“Sorry,” Michael looked around to see a few students staring at the pair. “It’s just, how long have you known?”

“Since my grandma came to town. She told me and I guess my dad was going to tell me this summer. But when he died, things changed. He was the incoming king once his dad died last year, now it has to be me, once I am 18.” Luke explained quickly and quietly to his friend.

“Is that why you’ve been so busy with her? Learning about your family?”  
“She has been teaching me how to be a prince too.” Luke and Michael are walking through the halls now.

“Teaching you?”

“Like manners and stuff.”

“Is that why your hair is shorter now? And it looks like you brush it?” Michael asks Luke. He shrugs as they take their seats in class. Luckily then the teacher is speaking and Luke can just pretend to listen to what was going on in class, while silently worrying over how he could survive another month of this attention. He was used to being invisible, now everyone was looking.

A few days go by and Luke finally thinks that things are going to settle all the way down, when the hottest and most popular girl at school walks up to him his locker.

“Hey Luke,” Lana smiles at him. Luke cannot find his mouth to reply so he just nods at her. “I was thinking we should go to the senior party together.” She touches his chest softly and Luke is melting.

“Yeah, that’d be, uh, yeah.” Luke stutters out finally.

“Perfect. Pick me up at 9?” She smiles at him and walks away. Michael was behind Luke and they both just stare as she walks away.

“Did that just happen?” Luke asks Michael.

“Yupp. So I guess we’re going to the senior party?” The senior party was usually thrown only for the popular kids and this year it was at one of the richest kids house. Luke and Michael weren’t invited and they weren’t going to go, but now Luke had a date to it. Not only a date, but the hottest girl in the entire senior class.

Luke was able to use his mom’s car for the night, picking up Michael and making him sit in the backseat while Lana was to ride shotgun. Luke picked her up right at 9 and she looked amazing in a mini skirt and crop top. She held his hand in her lap the entire drive to the party and Luke was not able to hide his dumb smile on his face.

Arriving at the party Lana was proudly pulling Luke through the house so everyone would see them together, loosing Michael in the crowds trying to get a good look at them. Some guy hands them both a cup in the kitchen and Luke downs it, hoping to calm his nerves. It tasted like fruit punch, so he gets another cup as Lana pulls him outside to mingle with even more people. Luke had never drank before and his head was swimming from whatever was in the punch by the time he downs his second one.

Lana was all over him once she could tell he was feeling tipsy, sitting in his lap in a lawn chair while surrounded by all of her friends. She was talking all about herself, but Luke didn’t really mind since she was all over him as she talked.

A few people had stripped down to their underwear to jump into the pool and Luke thought that sounded like the best idea ever after he was halfway through with his third cup. So off came his shirt and jeans and he was in the pool. He is swimming around with Lana wrapped around him in only her bra and underwear when he notices all of the phones. People are taking pictures and videos of them.

“Shit,” He whispers to himself. He hurries out of the pool and grabs his clothes, pulling them over his wet skin as he steps inside. He finds Michael in a corner of the party, alone. Michael can tell Luke is pretty drunk, so he helps him to the car and drives them back to Luke’s place. Luke’s mom doesn’t come out of her room, it being well past midnight, so Michael gets some food and water for Luke before letting him fall asleep.

Waking up the next morning Luke’s phone is blowing up; text messages, being tagged in social media posts, missed calls, and worst of all new stories. His drunken escapades were all over the internet. Videos of him stripping, jumping into the pool, Lana all over him clothed and in the pool. He looked like an asshole he thought. His head was pounding as he reached for a bottle of water next to his bed. His eyes land on Michael and he is thankful he had a true friend to help him.

“LUKE!” Screams his mother. Luke winces, the yelling making his head hurt even more. He keeps drinking the water as Michael wakes and the door is opened to reveal his mother and grandmother on the other side.

“Morning,” Luke half smiles at them, their expressions growing sterner.

“Get up now, Luke. Michael honey, sorry but you’re going to have to go home.” Luke’s mother gets soft with Michael and he nods as he gets up off the floor. The door shuts and Luke puts his head into his hands.

“I fucked up so bad,” He sighs.

“Yeah, but you’re young.” Michael tries to help.

“I’m not just any teenager though. I am a fucking prince. I have to become king of a whole country.” Luke groans. “And now my first night drinking is plastered all over the internet for everyone to see.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Michael agrees and Luke shoots him an angry look. “Look, it happened. Now you have to deal with it and the consequences, but I know you can do it.” Michael adds as he claps his hand to Luke’s back.

“Thanks, I am not so sure.” Luke hangs his head. The only thing he can think about are the two very angry women waiting for him downstairs. Michael is ready to leave, so Luke shows him out. Once the front door is shut he turns to face the kitchen and whatever is going to come from going in there.

Both his mother and grandmother turn to look at him as he enters, stopping him in his tracks. Both of them are angry, that is evident, but it’s the disappointment in their eyes that is making Luke feel as small as a bug.

“Before you say anything, please just know I am sorry. Really truly sorry. I made a lot of bad choices last night.” Luke starts to talk and then he stops when they don’t flinch. “What can I do?” He asks after a moment of silence.

“You will make a statement to the press.” His grandmother starts.

“And you are grounded.” His mother says next.

“You will not be associated with anyone from any of those photos or videos.”

“You will be doing all the chores, with no allowance.” They are going back and forth and Luke keeps whipping his head between the two women.

“And you will apologize to the people of Genovia for demonstrating poor judgment and humiliating the country in front of the world.” His grandmother seems done, so Luke’s eyes go to his mother.

“Luke, you are going to be an adult soon. I need you to be responsible. If you are going to move across the world, I have to be able to trust you. Right now, I don’t.” She crushes him with her words and he knows this is going to be a long road to get them to be okay with him again.

“Okay.” Is all he can say in response. His grandmother has to go to a meeting with some foreign dignitary now, so she gives him a glare before heading out the front door. Luke’s mom slides him a plate of toast and juice and he eats it silently. The toast helps settle his stomach and he sets about cleaning the house for her.

The Genovian consulate releases the statement Luke had written as his apology the next day, his grandmother giving him an approving smile when she read it. Luke was the talk of the school on the following Monday, people trying to congratulate him and befriend him even more now.

“Hey babe, so what’re we doing this weekend?” Lana comes over to him at his locker. Luke looks over at her in surprise.

“Uhm, nothing. I am grounded.” Luke replies to her and her face falls.

“For the videos?” She asks.

“Uh, yeah. I got in a lot of trouble.”

“Just sneak out,” She muses as she plays with the hair at the back of his neck.

“No like, with an entire country, Lana. I am not about to let them down again. Sorry, but I’m not hanging around with you or your friends again.” Luke pushes her off as he walks away. Her jaw had dropped open at his actions and it felt so good to walk away from her.

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The heat from his drunken night dies down pretty fast, both at home and internationally. Luke is feeling pretty good going into graduation, he was getting excited about traveling to Genovia now. His mother and grandmother are cheering him on in the crowd as he walks across the stage to accept his diploma, both them beaming down at him. Luke has a week at home before he is to be flown to Genovia to prepare for the ball, but Luke had convinced his grandmother to let Michael come along and Michael was beyond excited to get to go to a new place.

The plane ride makes Luke nervous, having never set foot in Genovia and now he was going to be calling this country home and he would be king one day. As he stares out of the window at the ground below his chest tightens. Could he really do this? Was he ready for this? No, he thinks, but he has time still.

“Welcome home,” His grandmother says to him as they touch down on the tarmac. Her smile helps Luke to find his own. Until they are lead off the private jet and as they descend there are photographers there to capture the moment the new prince tumbles down the stairs. Luke gets up and brushes himself off as best he can, waving to them before hurrying off to die of embarrassment.

Going to the palace for the first time is overwhelming in a way that Luke never imagined. It is HUGE and there are so many people working there, how was Luke to remember all of their names? How was he supposed to remember where all the rooms were? Luke was starting to really freak out now, this was too much.

“Luke, this is Calum and Ashton. They are going to be here to help you settle in. Think of them as your friends here in the palace. While they do work for the crown, they are here to help you transition and to answer your questions.” His grandmother is pointing to two men in front of him, both look to be just around his age, maybe only a couple of years older. He shakes both of their hands before introducing Michael to them.

“Why don’t we go to your suite so we can show you around there?” Calum suggests. Luke nods and they lead on towards a different wing of the gigantic palace.

Once the four men are alone Luke is asking question after question about the ball and the palace and how they came to work there. Calum and Ashton answer each question and are patient with Luke as he calms down a bit. Michael is a welcome distraction as well, asking if they can get a TV and video game console for the living room in Luke’s suite.

Luke is busy with his grandmother going over his prince lessons before the ball, and he is helping to oversee all the finals plans with her as well. Luke was practicing his dancing as much as he could, hoping to make a total fool of himself when the time came. He had been scared to dance with a stranger, but his mother had agreed to come and dance with him, easing his mind. Michael was not too happy he was going to have to dress up for this ball but he knew it would mean everything to Luke to not be alone in the huge ballroom all night. Calum and Ashton were going, but they would be working most of the night, so they didn’t really count.

Luke was pleasantly surprised at how well he got along with the two Genovian men. Being so close in age meant that they could understand his trepidation about his new role in their country. Both of them had grown up in Genovia so they could help explain things about the country to Luke as well, things that the books and his grandmother might not be able to. Luke was able to go out and walk around the city in the weeks before the ball, Calum and Ashton showing him a few spots that he might like. Luke felt connected to this unknown country already, just knowing his father had grown up here, lived here, and even died here.

The day of the ball Luke is awoken by the makeover team once again, this time they leave his hair at the length it had grown to but they get the curls to be more prominent with some kind of product. His skin is exfoliated again and the moisturizer makes him look almost flawless. They shave away what small amount of facial hair he had grown in the last couple of weeks in Genovia, something he is a little upset about. His nails are trimmed and buffed and he wonders if someday he should paint them, but today was not that kind of day.

“I feel like an idiot in this thing,” Michael complains as he enters Luke’s room that afternoon. He was in his tuxedo for the ball already.

“At least you get a normal tux,” Luke groans as he looks over at his jacket for the night. It was an official Genovian jacket, for a prince. It had medals and ropes and he was sure he would look like an idiot in it.

“Your jacket is incredible!” Michael says as he looks it over. It was a blue-green color with golden ropes and the Genovian flag on the left breast.

“You are going to look great in it, Luke.” Ashton smiles at the two as he enters the room. “I am afraid the time to put it on is now. We have royal portraits to get to.” Luke groans again, but he rises to put the jacket on, with Calum’s help. He had to admit that he looked pretty good in it, with his black dress pants and boots, he did look the part of a prince.

Luke takes pictures with his grandmother and then by himself, trying to muster up his most serious face for them so that he looks the part. They get a few of him smiling, and those are the ones that he likes the most.

“This way,” Calum shows Luke where to wait for them to announce him at the ball down below them. They can all hear the people chatting and the soft sound of the string quartet playing from somewhere.

“You got this, just don’t trip.” Michael taps Luke’s chest as he heads down the stairs to join the party, a smile on his face. Luke flips him off discreetly and they both chuckle as Michael turns. Luke can feel the nerves in his stomach, making it churn. His palms are sweating now as well, thank god his mother was the one he’d be dancing with.

“You’ve got this.” Ashton nudges Luke’s shoulder lightly and this makes Luke smile. Ashton and Calum had helped him so much in the couple short weeks he had known them. Having them around made him feel much more at ease, he hoped they’d be sticking around as he assumed his duties as prince once he was 18.

“Good luck, Luke.” His grandmother had joined them, as she was being announced right after him. He smiles at her, almost missing his name being announced to the room down below. Ashton shoves him towards the stairs and he is careful to take them slowly.

As the room comes into view his heart is pounding in his chest at the number of eyes on him. He knew it was a huge ball, but nothing could have prepared him for this attention. Cameras are flashing at him and he tries to find his mother or Michael to focus his gaze on, so he isn’t flashing face to face nervously. He finds his mother’s happy face and goes right to her once he is down the large staircase.

“You didn’t trip!” She whispers excitedly to him and Luke can’t help but giggle at her. As his grandmother is announced she comes down the stairs gracefully and she gives Luke a big smile.

She passes by him and Luke takes his mother’s hand as he was taught and leads her to the dance floor in the ballroom next door. The music starts and Luke begins the dance with his mother as the Queen is dancing with her head of security. As the song goes on the prime minister joins with his wife and a few other important figures from around Genovia as well. Luke is overjoyed when the song is over, even if he had danced perfectly, he did not want to do it again.

But when he is less than halfway around the room, being introduced to everyone by Ashton, he wishes he was dancing instead of making small talk. Ashton is giving him looks as if to forgive him, but Luke knows this is his job and now it is Luke’s as well. Somehow Luke manages to get around the room before dinner is served in the dining room and he is sat at the right hand of his grandmother, his mother next to him and Michael next to her.

The dinner goes much better than his first official dinner, he only manages to knock over his water glass once and it was empty at the time. As everyone is rising to go to the ballroom for more dancing Luke is hoping he can slip away, but there is no such luck as his grandmother had arranged for him to dance with a few “special ladies”. Luke shoots her a look as she waves him off with the first woman, who turns out to a be a worse dancer than Luke and he almost drops her when she tries to get him to dip her.

So it goes on for the next hour that Luke is dancing with woman after woman. He was certain that this was supposed to be a setup, but he was not at all interested in that right now. Sure he was almost 18, but he had such a huge amount on his plate already without the worry of romance.

“I need some air,” He whispers to Ashton after a dance with a particularly uninteresting woman. Ashton nods and Luke heads out to the balcony area. He shuts the door behind him, not wanting to invite anyone out for a private moment with him. He undoes his jacket to reveal the white button up underneath, sighing at the fresh air as it rushes over his overheated chest.

“Long night?” A voice asks him and he has to try not to make an audible noise of annoyance. He looks up and the ill thoughts he had die then and there.

“Uh, yeah. But it’s my first ball so,” Luke smiles weakly at the gorgeous stranger in front of him.

“You’ll get used to it. Although I doubt your grandmother will ever stop setting you up for dances.” She smiles at him and he swears his knees get weak.

“You know my grandmother then?” He chuckles softly as he walks over towards her, she was leaning on the half wall surrounding this balcony.

“A bit, yes. She is a strong lady, a great Queen.” She talks and Luke is watching the way her eyes sparkle a little in the night light from the moon. She looked like she meant every word.

“She is yeah, I can only hope to carry on the family name as well as she has.” Luke tries to sound as princely as he can.

“I am sure that you will Prince Luke. You’ll make us all proud.” She smiles at him again and starts towards the door.

“I didn’t get your name,” Luke calls to her.

“Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N.” She smiles at him before the door is open and she has disappeared into the crowds within.


End file.
